Girona vs Barcelona Preview – Prediction, how to watch & potential line-ups

Mid-table La Liga tenants Girona and title-bidding Barcelona will renew hostilities in another Catalan derby at the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi on Sunday afternoon. 

Despite a saved penalty in stoppage time, ten-man Girona slipped to a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Villarreal last weekend to another spot-kick given to the Yellow Submarine beyond the 100th minute.

Dani Parejo’s last-gasp penalty knocked Los Blanquivermells for a club-record seven-game unbeaten run in La Liga (W3, D4), significantly derailing their hopes of inserting in the European race. 

Seven points adrift of sixth-placed Real Betis, who have a game in hand, Michel Sanchez’s men cannot settle for a draw here if they’re to soar into the upper half of the standings. 

However, considering a substantial gulf in class between the sides, Girona may even embrace a point against underperforming Barcelona. 

A quick glance at Barca’s astounding streak of 12 unbeaten matches in all competitions (W10, D2) provides a false sense of unparalleled strength when in reality, their recent showings have flattered to deceive. 

Xavi Hernandez’s lads were lucky to get away with a 1-0 home win over relegation-battling Getafe last Sunday before eking out an identical Copa del Rey triumph over Real Sociedad on Wednesday. 

While Robert Lewandowski’s absence against Getafe to a red-card suspension could be an excuse for Barcelona’s thoroughly uneventful display, there’s no explanation for their sub-par midweek performance.

Lewandowski was back to the fold against Imanol Alugacil’s team but did nothing worth mentioning and will now serve the final match of his three-game ban.

Match Preview

Girona

Girona boss Michel has lost his three previous La Liga encounters against Barcelona as a manager. Based on his side’s top-flight fortunes against the Blaugrana, that’s unlikely to change.

Los Blanquivermells are still waiting for their maiden victory against the Spotify Camp Nou outfit in La Liga and are winless in the last four in a row (D1, L3), conceding 3.2 goals per game on average.

But Girona can hope to trouble the scoresheet at the very least, even though a scoring blank at Villarreal ended their joint-best scoring run in their La Liga history of 14 matches.

Barcelona

Barcelona have gone into overdrive in La Liga since a 3-1 El Clasico defeat at Real Madrid in mid-October, racking up 22 of 24 available points in the aftermath (W7, D1) to seize the top spot in the standings.

Their imperious league form looks destined for continuation, with the Bluagrana going unbeaten in their last 29 games against Catalonian sides in La Liga (W21, D8) since losing to Espanyol in 2009.

Interestingly, in four of the last five instances seeing the Catalan powerhouse tally 44 points after 17 games, they have gone on to lift the crown, most recently in 2017/18.

Girona vs Barcelona Potential Line-ups

Girona (4-2-3-1): Paulo Gazzaniga; Arnau Martinez, Javi Hernandez, Espinosa, Miguel Gutierrez; Oriol Romeu, Aleix Garcia; Rodrigo Riquelme, Ivan Martin, Toni Villa; Valentin Castellanos. 

Barcelona (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andres Christensen, Alejandro Balde; Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong; Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati, Gavi. 

How to Watch?

Girona vs Barcelona, alongside all other Blaugrana matches this season, is available to watch live online via Barcelona live streams.

Girona vs Barcelona Prediction 

Girona will likely give Barcelona a run for their money, but we still expect the visitors to walk away with all three points by a tight margin.

Girona 0-1 Barcelona